Two Solons Cancel Mideast Trips After the Administration Issues an Advisory; Presidents Conference I

Sens. Gary Hart (D. Colo.) and Bennett Johnston (D. La.) cancelled scheduled visits to the Middle East last week, which were to include a stop in Israel, after the Reagan Administration urged that members of Congress “reassess” their travel plans to the region.

A State Department official told a press briefing for foreign reporters last Friday afternoon that the advisory to Congressional officials was in response to recent threats by Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi that he would launch a wave of terrorism against Americans in the region.

But the Administration’s advisory amounted to a “weakening of the American resolve to resist terrorism,” according to a statement issued Sunday by Kenneth Bialkin, chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. “The interruption of foreign travel is exactly what terrorists want and the surrender to terrorist threats gives them the victory they seek,” Bialkin asserted.

Hart announced last Friday that he was canceling his trip to Israel, Egypt and Jordan after he was advised by Administration sources that the visit would “divert limited security resources.” The State Department acknowledged that it had advised Congressional members and their staffs to “reassess” whether their trips to the Middle East were necessary at this time, but denied having directly requested that such visits be cancelled.

EXPLAINING THE ADVISORY

The officials who briefed foreign reporters said that “we’ve all heard the threats issued by Col. Qaddafi and we have suggested to them that we think real carefully about whether travel to the region at this time is essential or whether they would consider postponing it.”

State Department spokesman Charles Redman, however, at an earlier briefing, stressed that the Administration’s request only related to visits by members of Congress and that no general travel advisory had been issued. Redman said that “a fairly large number” of Congressmen and staff members had planned to travel to the Middle East during the Easter recess.

Hart planned to fly to Israel last Friday on a trip that was to include Egypt and Jordan. Johnston, who was to travel with Hart to Israel on the first leg of the separate Middle East tour, also cancelled his plans. Six members of the House of Representatives, however, are reported to be currently visiting the Jewish State.

‘OUR PRIMARY CONCERN’

But Hart said he had concluded that in light of the security situation, a visit would be “inappropriate” at this time. “It is important to demonstrate our commitment to our strong friends and allies in the Middle East, particularly in light of Col. Qaddafi’s recent threatening statements,” Hart said in a statement.

“But our primary concern should be for the safety of our Embassies and all American personnel in the region. It is paramount that our security resources be totally dedicated to increasing the maximum possible protection for American citizens in the Middle East.”